Gender harassment of women in unionized nontraditional professional occupations in British Columbia: An evaluation of legal redress procedures.

Gender harassment in the workplace is widespread and costly for women and their families emotionally, physically, and financially. Although legislative mechanisms exist to allow employees to seek redress for workplace harassment, very few women file harassment complaints, partly because processes associated with legal options are convoluted and inadequate information and support are available to women who attempt to navigate the legal system. In order to provide women with information about their legal options, three research goals were undertaken using a qualitative approach. The efficacy of procedures associated with legal redress options were analyzed, an information booklet outlining legal options was created, and the first two goals were accomplished with the contributions of three research participants. Some of the recommendations arising from the evaluation include elucidation of and education about the types of behaviours constituting harassment, clarification of definitions of harassment in the legislation, and clarification and communication of procedures for addressing harassment complaints.